The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece including a set of negative resistance light emitting elements, which function to either calculate the time information or indicate the time information.
The conventional electronic wristwatch usually comprises hour, minute and second hands associated with a step motor, or a digital display unit for indicating time information in a digital fashion.
In the former type, a mechanical assembly is unavoidably required and, therefore, it is difficult to obtain an electronic wristwatch of compact size. Moreover, the reliability is low because of its mechanical part. In the latter type, shift resisters and a driver circuit are unavoidably required in addition to the digital display unit and, therefore, the circuit construction thereof is complicated.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic timepiece with simple circuit construction.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic timepiece of high reliability.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic timepiece of which a time calculation means functions as an indication means.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
To achieve the above objectives, pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, a set of negative resistance light emitting elements such as GCR's (gallium arsenide gate controlled rectifiers) or GND's (gallium arsenide negative resistance light emitting diodes) are aligned in a circular fashion on a display panel of an electronic timepiece for indicating current time information. The negative resistance light emitting elements also perform the time calculation operation and, therefore, a driver circuit for the display purpose can be omitted.